PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) – Pakistan has closed schools across the country for a day on the anniversary of last year’s Taliban attack that killed over 150 people, 144 of them schoolchildren.
Government spokesman Mushtaq Ghani said Wednesday the closure is part a day of national mourning and a precaution against militant attacks tied to the anniversary.
Pakistan’s top civilian and military leadership attended a ceremony in the northwestern city of Peshawar to award medals to the victims’ families.
In the wake of the attack, Pakistan stepped up its campaign against Islamic militants, lifting a moratorium on the death penalty and trying alleged terrorists in military courts.
The Taliban and their allied Islamic militants have been waging a war against the state for over a decade, killing thousands.